Visionary cattle-genetics leader Roy Wallace passed away Jan. 20 while in Denver attending the National Western Stock Show. He was 63.

Wallace, vice president of beef programs for Select Sires, literally spent his entire working life in pursuit of producing better beef cattle through improved genetics. He was a leader in the areas of sire evaluation, progeny testing and estrus synchronization in the U.S. and throughout the world.

Wallace was among the originators who helped form the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF), and he was awarded BIF’s Continuing Service Award and the Pioneer Award. He also coauthored the BIF 25-year history, “Ideas Into Action,” and was named among BEEF magazine’s “Top 40” contributors to the U.S. beef industry in 2004.

Memorials can be sent to The Ohio State University, Department of Animal Sciences, c/o Dr. James E. Kinder, Chair, Roy Wallace Memorial, 2029 Fyffe Road, Columbus, Ohio, 43210.

For more on this industry icon, visit: www.selectsires.com/RoyWallace.aspx.